Forward Deployed Engineer · For AI Embedment · NCSD
Are you hiring? Embed a SideGuy FDE for a fraction of the cost.
What Palantir and Anthropic charge $400K/year for. Delivered SMB-style by an operator who's already the FDE for himself.
⚡ What's an FDE?
Forward Deployed Engineer — the role Palantir invented around 2008 and Anthropic + OpenAI now run for enterprise customers like Pfizer, JP Morgan, and Lilly. An engineer who deploys on-site at the customer to translate platform capability into customer-specific workflows. Not a salesperson. Not a consultant. Delivery, embedded.
Comp band: $300-500K/year per FDE seat. Tenure: 2-3 years. Highest-trust, highest-skill role in modern tech. Which is fine for a Fortune 500 — and structurally impossible for an SMB or a startup.
Why SideGuy works as an FDE.
Operator-honest cred. Verifiable on the public site before you text.
⚡ Proof of model · published 2026-05-13
What an FDE day with SideGuy actually delivers.
Today's lap. One operator-day. Single human + Anthropic + Kromeon infrastructure underneath. Comparable consultancy delivery for the same scope: 4-6 weeks · $80-150K · 3-5 engineers + a PM.
| Cnt | Category | What shipped |
|---|---|---|
| 24 | Local service pages | NCSD coastal: plumber + electrician + handyman + HVAC × 6 cities |
| 4 | Shareables | Help List · The SideGuy Start · Practice Room A · Lockdown Track 17 |
| 4 | Event-OS pages | Fiesta Del Sol hub + 3 anchor shareables (English Beat · Karl Strauss · Saddlebar) |
| 4 | Compliance × city | SOC 2 + HIPAA × Solana Beach + Encinitas (in flight) |
| 3 | Generators | build_local_service_pages · build_fiesta_shareable · build_compliance_local_page |
| 2 | Recovery scripts | fix_noindex_regression (222K files) · fix_missing_canonicals (583 files) |
| 10+ | Doctrines saved | FDE Service Model · World Tour + New Album · Trilly C Proactive Mode · You Always Wanted · Studio Stays in Studio · etc |
| 6 | Outbound DMs | 3 Fiesta + 3 Practice Room (paste-ready) |
| 4 | Sub-agent swarms | Master hub · Template+anchors · DM sidecar · Compliance swarm |
Receipt published 2026-05-13. Verify any claim by browsing the site — every page is dated and live.
Pricing — operator-honest.
Anchored against the actual FDE comp band. No retainer trap. No SaaS subscription.
- Scope-based · not a retainer trap. You know what you're getting before we start.
- No SaaS subscription · pay once, own the layer. Built into your stack, not licensed back to you.
- Text PJ ongoing · continuous-FDE optionality if you want it. Not required. Not a sales SaaS retainer.
- No call · no funnel · no Calendly · no SOW theater. Text the situation, get a real reply.
Operator line: "I'm almost positive I can help. If I can't, you don't pay."
What an FDE engagement looks like.
Same posture as Palantir — different cadence and different price. Days, not quarters.
Same-hour situation read.
Text-first intake. Send the workflow, the stack, the stuck point. No discovery call. No "intro deck." Real reply usually within the hour.
Same-week custom layer ship.
Parallel-solutions doctrine — start building the custom layer this week while you're still deciding on vendors. The light layer above the heavy platform.
Operator + AI augmentation handles the work.
Single operator + Anthropic + Kromeon infra underneath. No team-coordination overhead. No internal sales-engineering split. The operator is the FDE.
Working AI-embedded layer in your stack within days.
Not a slide deck. Not a maturity assessment. A live layer that does the thing — embedded into your actual workflow, not bolted on top.
Text PJ ongoing = continuous-FDE optionality.
Same number for delivery. Same number when something breaks. Same number when you want the next layer. Not a sales SaaS retainer — an operator-honest open line.
Want to see what your team's FDE engagement looks like?
Text the situation. Stack, workflow, stuck point — whatever shape it's in. PJ has a look. Real reply usually within the hour.
Text PJ direct · (858) 461-8054 No call. No funnel. Real human at the other end.